Feed-regulator.



J. B. CORNWALL. FEEDREGULATOR. APPLICATION FILED 050.1. 1915.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917..

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FEED REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I, 191 5.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

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B. CORNWL, 0F MOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSTGNOR Td BARNARD AND LEAS M- FdCTUBING GOMPANY, 0F MOLINE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OE ILLINUIS.

FEED-REGULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgimtgd Mam, W2, jilijl't,

Application filed December 1, W15. Serial No. 64,4454.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN B. ConNwA-LL, a citizen of the United States, residin at Molin e, in the county of Rock Island and tate of llllinois, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Feed-Regulators; and l hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention is a novel improvement in feed regulators, and has especial reference to machines for feeding granular substances, such as flour, meal, grain, etc. One of its objects is to enable the operator to change or regulate the amount of material being delivered by such a machine quickly, and at will, without stopping or changing the speed of the main driving shaft. Another object is to discharge the material from the machine in a practically continuous uniform stream although the material is discharged from the hopper into the machine irregularly or intermittently. Another object is to provide a cheaper, simpler and more conveniently operated feed regulator than has been heretofore made.

The invention is particularly useful in connection with machines intended to feed grain and its products in regulated uniform quantities; and is especially useful where several. such machines are employed to blend or mix different grains or products in predetermined proportional quantities. In the usual type of feeding machines the variation of movement of the feeding element has been obtained by adjusting regulating screws, and this is a comparatively slow and troublesome operation, while my invention provides means whereby the desired variation of movement of the feeding element may be quickly and easily effected, and any desired variation, or extent of regulation, of the feed can be obtained.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a secondary conveyer or feed device operating at a difi'erent and preferably a higher rate of speed than the primary conveyer or feed device, said secondary conveyer preferably running continuously, while the primary conveyer operates intermittently or variably. The product from the primary conveyer may be wholly or partially discharged at difi'erent points into the secondary conveyer and fed by the latter to the point of delivery, and any surplus material which might be carried over by the primary conveyer may also be discharged into the delivery with the material issuing from the secondary conveyer. This construction equalizes the stream of material issuing from the feeding machine and makes the delivery therefrom practically uniform and continuous.

T will explain and illustrate the invention as embodied in the machine illustrated in the drawings, and set forth in the claims the parts and combinations of parts for which protection is desired.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a feeder to which my invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is an end view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a detail view similar to Fig. 2 showing the parts in different positions.

Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section on the line 33 Fig. 2. v

Fig. 5 is a detail.

The feeder illustrated in said drawings has a hopper B into which the material is fed, and said hopper discharges into an underlying trough in which is a primary conveyer C preferably a screw conveyer, m0unted upon a shaft D which has bearings in the end frames E and F. Beneath the primary conveyer trough T, is a secondary conveyer trough t in which is a worm conveyer a, mounted on ashaft journaled in suitable bearings in the end frames E--F of the feeder. The main trough T is preferably provided with a series of. openings t in its bottom through which the material passes from the trough T into the trough t at different points; the secondary trough t has a dischar e outlet Journa ed in the end frames E, F above the trough A is a shaft G which may be driven by a pulley H at one end, belted to any suitablesource of power. Motion may be imparted from the shaft G to the secondary conveyer 0 so as to operate this conveyer continuously by any suitable means. As shown a pulley J is mounted on the shaft G and a pulley K on the shaft, conveyer a, pulley K being driven by a belt L from pulley J.

The primary conveyer shaft is operated Secured to the end of the conveyer shaft 3 D is a pinion ,1 which meshes. with a gear wheel-2 mounted upon a stud 2 attached to the end frame E, preferably below the shaft D.

Pivoted on this stud 29, preferablyat the 19' outer-end of gear 2, are two oscillating le-" ve'rs 3 and 4. The oscillating lever 3 is pivotally connected to one end of a link 5, theother end of which is pivotally connected to a crank'pin 6 on a crank '6 fast 'to the shaft G. The lever 4 is pivotally connected to the lower end of a link 5 the upper end of which is alsopivotally connected to the crank pin 6 so that when shaft G and crank 6 are rotatedthe levers 3 and 4 29 will be oscillated.

On the lever 3 is pivoted a pawl 3 the tooth of which is adapted to engage the teeth of gear 2 when lever 3 rises. Pivoted on lever 4 is a pawl 4 which is adaptedto engage the teeth of gear 2 when thelever 4 is lowered. These pawls 3 and 4* alternately engage and'operate gear 2, and both impart c motion to the gear 2 in the same direction. The pawls 3 and 4 maybe yieldingly held 3. in engagement with the gear 2 by any suitable means; as shown they are weighted and held in engagement with the gear teeth by gravity. In the example shown the gear 2 is considerably larger in diameter than the pinion 1, consequently a considerableextent of rotation will be imparted to the conveyer C for a comparatively smallextent of rotation of the gear 2.

' In order to cause the pawls to certainly en- 40 gage the gear 2 without the use of springs,

the pawl 3 is arranged to work more nearly at the top of the gear than the pawl 4; this being accomplished by making the link 5 shorter than the link 5. This enables me to locate the pawls 2% and 4 to move and operate in the positions" where they will readily-engage by gravity with the teeth of the gear2. V

The said mechanism stantially uniform vibration or reciprocation to the pawls 3 and 4 for each rotation of the crank, and in order to regulate or vary the extent of movement im arted by thepawls 3 4. to the gear 2 the ollowing devices are used:

' Upon stud 2, preferably at the inner end of the gear 2, is pivotallymounte'd a double v armed oscillating lev'er'7, see Fig. 5, to the opposite ends of-which are attached arcsha'ped shields3 and 4. respectively. These .shields are constructed and arranged to lie close to and opposite the periphery ofthe gear 2,-as shown, and may be so adjusted circumferentially of gear 2 as to extend more or less into the paths traversed-by the pawls connects arranged to discharge the desired 3", 4 and thus hold the pawls 3", 4' out of. engagement with the teeth of the ,gear 2 during any desired part, or all, of the strokes of 'thelsaid pawls. The shields maybe simultaneously adjusted to any desired osi- 7. tion. by shifting the lever 7 and this ever can be ad'usted by means of a rod 8 pivotally at one .end to an arm- 7 on the lever 7 and'the other end of said rod extends through a guide 9 attached to the frame E and said rod can be locked to hold lever 7, in any adjusted position,'by means of a set bolt or thumb screw 9*" tapped through the guide 9- as indicated, in the drawings. By shiftin the lever 7 the Shields 3", 4 can be shifte circumferentially of .the gear 2 to any point desired in order to limit the number of teeth with which the pawls 3, 4" will operatively engage during their reci roc'ation. By these means whi e the sha -G 86 may be operated continuously and uniformly the extent of motion im arted to the con'-.

-- veyer'shaft D can be varied at will, without stopping the machine,by sim ly adjusting the rod 8 so as to move the shie ds 3, 4 more or less'into the pawls 3*,4. a The said regulating mechanism is cheap, I simple, durable and practical and-is especially useful where it is desired to blend ma terialsv each of which is delivered from an individual feeder.

When the machine is in operation the main or primary conveyer C -will be operated intermittently or irregularly, while the sec-' 90 paths of the reciprocating ondary conveyer 0 will be 0 erated continuously. Thematerial from t e hopper is discharged from the primary conveyer trough" into the secondary conveyer trough and, as the secondary conveyer runs'at a higher rate 106 of speed and continuously, the product is practically delivered continuously from the machine y means of the secondary conveyer; but any material which may happen to pass to the end of the primary conveyer 110 will be discharged into the secondary. conveyer and escape through the opening 73. Such machine is able to completely blend or will impart a subequalizethe material and discharge same in from the hopper A by'the conveyer 0..

It is common practice'to arrange feeding machines in groups, and if for instance three kinds of materials are to be blended three such machines would be'used, each one being roportion of the material fed thereby. Difiicult has. heretofore been experienced with fee ing machines where the feed or discharge is 128 .intermittent, as this renders it diflicult to' properly blend the products from the .dif-

erent machines, whereas with my const'ruc tion the materials are fed from the hoppers of the several machines intermittently and in quantities regulated by the adjustment of the levers 7; yet such materials are discharged by the secondary conveyers from the respective machines in substantially uniform continuous streams which results in much more perfect and satisfactory blending of the different grades/of material, where the machines are used in groups.

What I claim is: r 1. In a feed regulator,:the combination of a hopper, a primary discharging conveyer, a secondary discharging screw conveyer into which the primary conveyer discharges at a plurality of points in the length thereof, means for operating said primary conveyer intermittently and variably,and means for operating said secondary conveyer continuously.

' 2. In a feed regulator, the combination of a hopper, a primary conveyer discharging material from the hopper, a secondary screw conveyer into which the primary conveyer discharges at a plurality of points in the length thereof, means for operating the primary conveyer at variable speeds, and means for operating the secondary conveyer continuously and at higher'speed than the primary conveyer. I

3. In a feed regulator, the combination of changing the speed of the primary discharge means, and means for operating the secondary discharge means at uniform speed.

4. In a feed regulator, the combination of a hopper, a trough into which the hopper discharges having a plurality of discharge openings at different points, a primary conveyer' in said trough, a secondary trough into which the material is discharged by the primary conveyer from said trough through said openings, a secondary conveyer in the secondary trough, means for operating the primary conveyer variably and intermittently, means for operating the secondary conveyer continuously at a higher speed than the primary conveyer, and means for changing the speed of the primary conveyer.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 

